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Organization

Singer

Tenor

Allan Clayton

Hamlet

Mezzo-soprano

Sarah Connolly

Gertrude

Soprano

Barbara Hannigan

Ophelia

Baritone

Rod Gilfry

Claudius

Kim Begley

Polonius

Bass

John Tomlinson

Ghost of Old Hamlet

Jacques Imbrailo

Horatio

David Butt Philip

Laertes

Countertenor

Rupert Enticknap

Rosencrantz

Christopher Lowrey

Guildenstern

Conductor

Vladimir Jurowski

Stage director

Neil Armfield

Set designer

Ralph Myers

Costume designer

Alice Babidge

Lighting designer

Jon Clark

Choreographer

Denni Sayers

Others

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Orchestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Glyndebourne

English

United Kingdom

Opera House

Ebert Room

Hamlet by B. Dean, from Glyndebourne Festival Opera, performed at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Glyndebourne, 2017. Directed by Neil Armfield, conductor Vladimir Jurowski, starring Barbara Hannigan, Sarah Connolly, John Tomlinson, Rupert Enticknap, Allan Clayton, Christopher Lowrey, David Butt Philip, Jacques Imbrailo, Rod Gilfry, Kim Begley. Performed in English and subtitled in English, German, French and Korean.

Lewes

“New opera doesn’t often get to sound this good.” (The Guardian) The highlight of the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival was the incredible triumph of a brand-new opera from contemporary Australian composer Brett Dean! Based on the beloved Shakespearean play, Hamlet, the opera's all-star cast is headed up by tenor Allan Clayton as Hamlet and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly as Gertrude. They are joined by the Glyndebourne Chorus, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of former Glyndebourne music director Vladimir Jurowski.

“Glyndebourne’s latest commission is unmissable — this is the operatic event of the year.” —The Sunday Times

Shakespeare's plays are quite literally the stuff operas are made of—more than three hundred operas have been inspired by his works—but some of his plays have lent themselves more easily to opera than others. Hamlet, with its tortuously dark plot and twisted characters, has proved to be a particular challenge—that is, until now!This summer, Glyndebourne presents Australian composer Brett Dean's newest contribution to the Shakespearean opera canon: a Hamlet whose many-layered music weaves long vocal lines with repetitive rhythmic figures and electronics. The libretto is based entirely on Shakespeare's text, although it occasionally redistributes lines among characters, including the famed 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy. The cast features stars at the top of their vocal game, with tenor Allan Clayton—whose "slow-burning intensity carries the tragedy to the bitter, grisly end" (The Guardian)—at the center of it all as Hamlet. The London Philharmonic performs brilliantly under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski, at Glyndebourne for the first time since he handed over his music directorship there four years ago.

Hamlet (Brett Dean), 2017
Hamlet is the Opera of the Month for April 2022.

Brett Dean’s award-winning reimagining of Shakespeare’s most famous play, Hamlet.

Extra content - Hamlet: explore with Alexandra
Opera Specialist Alexandra Coghlan talks to librettist Matthew Jocelyn, composer Brett Dean and Shakespeare scholar Sir Jonathan Bate to get under the skin of this operatic adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The world premiere recording of Brett Dean's opera based on Shakespeare's best-known tragedy at the Glyndebourne festival. To be, or not to be - this is Hamlet's dilemma, and the essence of Shakespeare's most famous and arguably greatest work, given new life in operatic form in this original Glyndebourne commission. Thoughts of murder and revenge drive Hamlet when he learns that it was his uncle Claudius who killed his father, the King of Denmark, then seized his fathers crown and wife. But Hamlet's vengeance vies with the question: is suicide a morally valid deed in an unbearably painful world? Dean's colourful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of Shakespeare's timeless tale, while also exploiting the traditional operatic elements of arias, ensembles and choruses. Matthew Jocelyn's inspired libretto is pure Shakespeare, adhering to the Bard's narrative thread but abridging, reconfiguring and interweaving it into motifs that highlight the main dramatic themes: death, madness, the impossibility of certainty and the complexities of action. World Premiere of the Year, 2018 International Opera Awards. "One of the unmissable operatic events of the year" (The Sunday Times 4 Stars). "A richly imaginative composer at the top of his game" (The Times 4 Stars). "Dean's music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines new opera doesn't often get to sound this good. Hannigan's spectacular high-soprano unhinging is the more shocking following her poise and inwardness" (The Guardian 4 Stars). "Clayton triumphs with unimpeachable vocal and acting credentials" (The Independent 4 Stars).

The world premiere recording of Brett Dean’s new opera based on Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy: To be, or not to be. This is Hamlet’s dilemma, and the essence of Shakespeare’s most famous and arguably greatest work, given new life in operatic form in this original Glyndebourne commission. Thoughts of murder and revenge drive Hamlet when he learns that it was his uncle Claudius who killed his father, the King of Denmark, then seized his father’s crown and wife.

 

But Hamlet’s vengeance vies with the question: is suicide a morally valid deed in an unbearably painful world? Dean’s colourful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of Shakespeare’s timeless tale, while also exploiting the traditional operatic elements of arias, ensembles and choruses. Matthew Jocelyn’s inspired libretto is pure Shakespeare, adhering to the Bard’s narrative thread but abridging, reconfiguring and interweaving it into motifs that highlight the main dramatic themes: death, madness, the impossibility of certainty and the complexities of action.

Hamlet Dean

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